CLARKSVILLE, IN (WAVE) - What should be done with a busy intersection? That's the question for members of the Clarksville Town Council when it comes to the overpass of Lewis & Clark Parkway at Browns Station Way.
An answer to that question isn't as easy as you might think. Thousands of car use the intersection everyday. There's a multi-million dollar proposed project to tear it down and re-work the interchange. Another council member wants it replaced. The town council members say time to decide is running out.
When Frank Lopp first planted roots here things looked a lot different.
"When we built the house, this, across the street was all just trees," said Clarksville resident Lopp.
He uses the Browns Station Way/Lewis & Clark Parkway interchange that is near his home. But things could look different again if Clarksville's Town Council decides "to dismantle the bridge and come in to a 3-way intersection with a stop-light," said Paul Kraft, a member of the council.
That's one of the options facing the council with a vote expected Monday on which way to go.
"We have a bridge that nobody seems to want," said Kraft. "The town itself has no bridge fund to maintain a bridge."
"Are we going to go through with this project that we signed a contract with the state that will do drainage, that will actually do some economic development along Lewis & Clark because it'll put everything down at eye level," said Bob Popp, another council member.
Popp, who supports the project, estimates it could cost up to $5 million dollars, with INDOT ponying up $4 million. That would leave the town to pay about $1 million in already generated tax dollars.
"I've always been against it," said Don Tetley, member of the council. "The reason being, in my opinion, taking out a clover-leaf and putting in a stop light is a step backwards. I would rather see the bridge torn down and rebuilt."
Kraft is on the fence. "We don't really want to lose the $4 million funding, but then, on the other hand, a 2-year detour would be detrimental."
"I think the worse case scenario, as far as getting onto Lewis & Clark from Browns Station Way would be 3 months," said Popp.
Popp says the project would be expected to start in 2013.
The council meeting is scheduled for 7 o'clock Monday, February 6 at the Clarksville Town Hall. It is open to the public.
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